Montgomery County School Board to Hold First Budget Hearing

The Montgomery County Board of Education will hold a public hearing Thursday on Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s $2.2 billion operating budget request for the 2013-2014 school year. 

The hearing, the first of two before the board, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Carver Educational Services Center, at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville.

The hearing also will be broadcast live on the web and on MCPS TV (Comcast channel 34, Verizon FIOS channel 36, and RCN channel 88).

A second hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Carver Center.

Click here for more information, including how to testify.

The proposed spending plan for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1, is a $48.95 million increase (2.3 percent) over the current budget.

Starr’s plan aims to address persistent gaps between test scores of African-American and Hispanic students and those of their white and Asian classmates. The proposal also invests in a curriculum aimed at meeting new state and national standards.

The school system of 202 schools faces the challenge of a student enrollment that is projected to increase by more than 2,300 to more than 150,000 students next school year. Meanwhile, Montgomery County could once again see a budget debate over a state law that requires counties’ per-pupil spending remain the same or increase from year to year.

Click here to read more about Starr’s budget plan.

The budget schedule is as follows:

• Thursday and Jan. 17: The county school board holds public hearings at 7 p.m.
• Jan. 22 and Jan. 24: The board holds work sessions at 6 p.m.
• Feb. 12: The board adopts a budget request for consideration by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).
• March 15: Leggett outline his fiscal 2014 county operating budget recommendations.
• April—May: The Montgomery County Council holds operating budget hearings and work sessions.
• May 16: The County Council finalizes the fiscal 2014 operating budget.